UAE issues advice to Chinese travellers who develop coronavirus symptoms

Circular urges anyone who has been to China and feels sick to seek medical care right away

Officials in full protective gear disinfecting Indonesian students as they disembark upon the arrival at Hang Nadim international airport in Batam, following their evacuation from the Chinese city of Wuhan due to the deadly SARS-like virus. AFP

People wear protective masks as they visit Global Village in Dubai. EPA

A quarantine worker disinfects a bus entering the National Human Resources Development Centre in Jincheon, South Korea. EPA

A Buddhist monk wears a mask to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as he collects alms in Chinatown at Bangkok, Thailand. Reuters

Airport officials wait to screen the temperature of passengers in order to detect a possible coronavirus infection, at Cairo International Airport, in Cairo, Egypt. EPA

Turkish, Azeri and Georgian evacuees dressed in protective suits and wearing masks leave a Turkish military cargo plane as they are flanked by medical workers upon their arrival from China's Wuhan in Ankara, Turkey. Reuters

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) unit soldiers prepare for the arrival of forty-two evacuees from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Albania arriving by plane from coronavirus hit Wuhan, China, at the airport in Ankara, Turkey. EPA

Ambulances and medics wait for the arrival of 42 people from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Albania on a Turkish Air Force cargo plane at the Etimesgut military Airport in Ankara after being repatriated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak. AFP

A person holds a child as passengers grab their luggages as they disembark a Turkish cargo plane at the Etimesgut military Airport in Ankara after being repatriated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak. AFP

Airport officials screen the temperature of passengers in order to detect a possible coronavirus infection, at Cairo International Airport, in Cairo, Egypt. EPA

A Vietnamese family wearing protective face masks walk outside a railway station in Hanoi. AFP

A citizen receives directions from a quarantine official at the National Medical Centre, where the 13th patient infected with the novel coronavirus is being treated, in Seoul, South Korea. EPA

A leukaemia patient and her mother coming from Hubei province cross a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus. Reuters

A mother reacts as she pleads with police to allow her daughter to pass a checkpoint for cancer treatment after she arrived from Hubei province at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus. Reuters

The UAE issued new advice to travellers coming from China who show signs of the new coronavirus.

The leaflet in Arabic, English and Chinese explains what the virus is, how it is transmitted, what the symptoms are and how can people protect themselves.

Anyone who has travelled to China and has a fever, cough or breathing difficulties, should "seek medical care right away".

“Before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room, call ahead and tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms,” the circular said.

Anyone who could potentially be affected should also avoid contact with others, and not travel if they are sick.

“Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve [not your hands] when coughing or sneezing.

"Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available."

The circular said the disease is a new strain of coronavirus, which was first identified in Wuhan. Most of the earliest cases were linked to the seafood and animal market, it said.

"It's likely that the novel coronavirus originated in an animal species and then spread to humans. Person-to-person spread of the novel coronavirus is reported but it is not yet understood how easily this happens," the circular said.

"Other human coronavirus strains are spread from person to person through contaminated droplets from a person who is sick with the illness [through coughing or sneezing] or contaminated hands."

The circular notes there is no available vaccine against the new virus. Symptoms include a cough, shortness of breath, fever, sore throat and headache.

"There is no specific treatment. It is mainly supportive treatment that aims at reducing symptoms," it said.

The leaflet urged people to contact government departments for further information or medical support and said they should "not circulate information about diseases in general".

The advisory was issued by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Department of Health, the Dubai Health Authority and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre.

On Sunday, an official at the ADPHC said there have been no cases of coronavirus in the emirate.

Abu Dhabi's education authority also reassured parents that no cases of the coronavirus had been reported in the capital before the announcement of the latest case.

The UAE on Saturday announced its fifth case of coronavirus – a tourist who arrived in the country from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak.

The new case came after four members of a family on holiday, from Wuhan, tested positive for the virus.

It is not known where the cases were diagnosed in the UAE or where the patients are being treated.

All five are said to be in a stable condition.

There are 14,543 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the vast majority in China.

In total, at least 305 people have died.

The Philippines reported its first death from the virus on Sunday after a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan succumbed to the disease. It is the first confirmed death outside of mainland China.